I cannot fathom the damage to one's brain that would be necessary to agree with that... Or anything from that era. Most anything from the Gospel tours would be infinitely better candidates and of course, the Never Ending Tour probably has over 4,000 to 5,000 songs one could argue as the greatest song performed live.

Someone interviewed Bob after Live '66 was released and asked him why he didn't release this earlier...and he said none of it was any good or he would have. I'd like to point to this version of P4S to backup what Bob said:

There's a lot of early acoustic stuff that is really off the charts. Before he made it big, like most artists, I think he tried a little harder. There's an acoustic version of "Pretty Boy Floyd" that stopped me in my tracks but no link available I know of. Also, that is peak voice era, another advantage of the early days. Some great things being brought up though. Bored? Go mining for some Dylan gold - you'll feel better!

Someone interviewed Bob after Live '66 was released and asked him why he didn't release this earlier...and he said none of it was any good or he would have.

He also said Johnny Rivers cover of Positively 4th St was his favorite cover...(it's abominable)He left the song She’s Your Lover Now on the shelf for decades...among about a dozen other mind blowing songs.He released Self-Portrait. (...what is this sh-t!)He wore a leather sleeveless vest for years...(in public, ON STAGE!)With all due respect, Dylan himself is not the best judge on these or a lot of other matters. As Bill Maher pointed out years ago, he doesn't get to decide, or render a final verdict. No one person does, not me, not him. So, in the end, trust me when I tell you that Clio the muse of history, is correct in relating to us that It's LARS it's 1966 and, specifically, if you must Manchester.

Joined: Wed August 23rd, 2017, 18:34 GMTPosts: 312Location: I followed you beneath the stars

Untrodden Path wrote:

dylanswife wrote:

Someone interviewed Bob after Live '66 was released and asked him why he didn't release this earlier...and he said none of it was any good or he would have.

On this, Bob was spot on...

Oh, yeah. SURE. He was TOTALLY right. Because Bob is always such a trustworthy judge of his own material. No, the 1966 concerts have never been ANY GOOD.

Don't you all realize how ridiculous this sounds?! The greatest performances of this tour are unsurpassed in their intensity, revolutionary fire, passion etc etc etc. I'm always gonna insist on LARS being the ultimate crown juwel, but these mind-blowing versions of (every song) Mr Tambourine Man, Desolation Row, Visions and Ballad of a Thin Man must all be leading candidates, too - several of his best songs combined with some of his most fascinating performances!

Idiot Wind from 1976, TUIB from 1975 (surprised this hasn't been thrown in yet!)... I'm not gonna deny there's so much else that's VERY SPECIAL. But don't put down 1966.

While it's not difficult for me to agree with many of the nominations thus far mentioned, my favourite live Bob-performance is this one from the Grammy Awards in February 1991. I first saw it in May 1991 on a wobbly VHS tape sitting under the shade of a tarp in the Syrian desert a few miles north of the Iraq border where I was working in the (then potential) oilfields. Back in February, several days after Bob's performance, at five in the morning, I had witnessed the collision of two opposing missiles which lit up the sky like the mother of all firework displays. The next day there was a blackout of the radio signals my crew had been monitoring which indicated that the ground assault from the south had begun...

While it's not difficult for me to agree with many of the nominations thus far mentioned, my favourite live Bob-performance is this one from the Grammy Awards in February 1991. I first saw it in May 1991 on a wobbly VHS tape sitting under the shade of a tarp in the Syrian desert a few miles north of the Iraq border where I was working in the (then potential) oilfields. Back in February, several days after Bob's performance, at five in the morning, I had witnessed the collision of two opposing missiles which lit up the sky like the mother of all firework displays. The next day there was a blackout of the radio signals my crew had been monitoring which indicated that the ground assault from the south had begun...

New contender. Forgot this one. Superb in so many ways. One of the very few overtly political performances of a political song, at the start of a war. Bob on acoustic, but an otherworldly scorching lead guitar by César Díaz - one of the most intense leads ever accompanying Bob Dylan - absolutely transcendent. Bob even flicks him a cool gesture at the end. Horrid video quality, a shame, but this is the cultural equivalent of Dylan at Gettysburg.

"When did you start working with Dylan?Keith recommended me to Dylan, so I worked for him for 11 years, off and on, starting in ’86. I started as amp and guitar tech, and then after G.E. quit to go back to the “Saturday Night Live” band, I asked him to let me play guitar. I used to play during soundchecks or if G.E. wasn’t around, so I got the gig. I knew all of Bob’s tunes and the arrangements. I mostly used my ’51 Tele on that gig.

Bob was always very suspicious of everything and everybody around him. I always brought guitars along when I was in the crew, and no matter what he had – and he has some great guitars – he always wanted to know what I had. He usually wound up using my guitars. That’s the way he is. You’ve got to understand, this guy made it big when he was young and has had people worshiping him since the ’60s.

I did over 50 gigs with him, including the Grammy Awards, then he brought in another guitar player, John Stahaeley, who used to be in Spirit. I usually don’t like playing with another guitar player, and Dylan had me teach him all the songs.

The biggest mistake I ever made was traveling with the band and not the crew. There’s a hierarchy there. As soon as I joined the band, I was scrutinized all the time, which didn’t happen when I was with the crew. It was like the eagle was watching. The band hangs with the band, and the crew hangs with the crew.

After I stopped playing with Bob, I fired the guitar tech, then quit. Then they didn’t have anybody, and Bob was miserable. He called and wanted me to go to Bulgaria. I didn’t go, but I wish I had."

Let’s do some free association on people you’ve either worked with or admire. Start with Stevie Ray -

The best thing that ever happened to me. A great kid and a great guitar player. He just got better and better. It was such a shame he died. It hurt me badly.

Eric Clapton.A gentleman. Nice guy to work with.

Keith Richards.A very sweet guy. Good guy to hang out with. Very generous.

Ronnie Wood.Like Keith, a great person to hang with. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of rock and roll and blues.

Jeff Beck.Nobody can imitate him. A totally modern guitar player.

Roy Buchanan.Really knew how to play a Telecaster. Other than that, I didn’t like him.

Danny Gatton.Like Roy, Danny knew how to play a Tele. Very talented player.

Disease of Conceit on piano, London, February 1990 is a candidate, in my opinion (assuming the thread is about the best performance of a song, live; as opposed to the best song per se that he has performed-which might imply the best song performed atrociously).

Of course it's Idiot Wind, LARS? Sure.

But if you haven't seen the grainy video of Bob pounding the keys with reckless abandon like Jerry Lee used to(I assume that's the one Mickvet is referring to),head on over to Youtube. It's there.

Has Bob ever seemed so possessed and out of control? Fantastic and insane!

Someone interviewed Bob after Live '66 was released and asked him why he didn't release this earlier...and he said none of it was any good or he would have.

He also said Johnny Rivers cover of Positively 4th St was his favorite cover...(it's abominable)He left the song She’s Your Lover Now on the shelf for decades...among about a dozen other mind blowing songs.He released Self-Portrait. (...what is this sh-t!)He wore a leather sleeveless vest for years...(in public, ON STAGE!)With all due respect, Dylan himself is not the best judge on these or a lot of other matters. As Bill Maher pointed out years ago, he doesn't get to decide, or render a final verdict. No one person does, not me, not him. So, in the end, trust me when I tell you that Clio the muse of history, is correct in relating to us that It's LARS it's 1966 and, specifically, if you must Manchester.

Nice post. I always had a soft spot for the Taj Mahal version, if soft spot is the right term for such violence. I'm getting off topic but, like Tangled, LARS is a greatest hit with so much to bite into lyric-wise that he would occasionally hit a home run, or at least solid double, all the way through it's performance history.

Disease of Conceit on piano, London, February 1990 is a candidate, in my opinion (assuming the thread is about the best performance of a song, live; as opposed to the best song per se that he has performed-which might imply the best song performed atrociously).

Of course it's Idiot Wind, LARS? Sure.

But if you haven't seen the grainy video of Bob pounding the keys with reckless abandon like Jerry Lee used to(I assume that's the one Mickvet is referring to),head on over to Youtube. It's there.

Has Bob ever seemed so possessed and out of control? Fantastic and insane!

That's the one. He takes a middling song and transforms it into something unique. I was always amazed at the length of his fingers on this.

[quote="bloodblondehighwayhome"][quote="Untrodden Path"][quote="dylanswife"]Someone interviewed Bob after Live '66 was released and asked him why he didn't release this earlier...and he said none of it was any good or he would have. [/quote]On this, Bob was spot on...[/quote]

Oh, yeah. SURE. He was TOTALLY right. Because Bob is always such a trustworthy judge of his own material. No, the 1966 concerts have never been ANY GOOD.

Don't you all realize how ridiculous this sounds?! The greatest performances of this tour are unsurpassed in their intensity, revolutionary fire, passion etc etc etc. I'm always gonna insist on LARS being the ultimate crown juwel, but these mind-blowing versions of [i](every song)[/i] Mr Tambourine Man, Desolation Row, Visions and Ballad of a Thin Man must all be leading candidates, too - several of his best songs combined with some of his most fascinating performances!

Idiot Wind from 1976, TUIB from 1975 (surprised this hasn't been thrown in yet!)... I'm not gonna deny there's so much else that's VERY SPECIAL. But don't put down 1966.[/quote]

For whatever it's worth, I mentioned the '75 Tangled... Didn't include a clip, but it's been a go-to over the years. That's how I judge the question - Do I still listen even after the initial fascination ends. ... 1966 has plenty in that vain. The biggest standout to me from that tour is still the Visions Of Johanna that was offered on Biograph. Still put that one on more so than any of the others. ... From the electric set I still mostly go with Tell Me Momma, Tom Thumb, or Thin Man. ... Don't know why, but it's the way it is. Maybe too much of hearing it (Rolling Stone) or the rare case of the album version being nailed then & there in the studio and never being surpassed. Most of Dylan's songs improve with the live versions.... except Rolling Stone (some others as well). ... Although Rolling Stone '66 makes sense with logic, it doesn't apply for me as a best performance ... '66 or any other year. ... Think I listen to that sing-along one from '04 the most, but it's still way down on my own list.

Another good choice for me would be the '76 re-write performance of If You See Her Say Hello

Here's a random one from the net.... Check out the Saving Grace from this show. It's the definitive version to me .... Even with the BS 13 release. .... And it's not a performance i have seen mentioned a lot (if at all) on this site. .... If you've never heard it gives it a try.

Disease of Conceit on piano, London, February 1990 is a candidate, in my opinion (assuming the thread is about the best performance of a song, live; as opposed to the best song per se that he has performed-which might imply the best song performed atrociously).

Not sure if "Highlands" from Santa Cruz has been mentioned. Probably not my all time favorite but it's up there. I'm a big Hard Rain guy, so maybe something from that album/tour for me.

Funny you should bring this up. I was cleaning up my iTunes library and discovered I had three separate live versions of Highlands. One was the Santa Cruz version, which ultimately appeared on an official release called Live & Rare. I listened to it -- excellent -- but there's a version from Glasgow, 09-17-00, that is better in every way, including sound quality. Dylan is loose, wry, and singing with attitude the way the song should be sung.

I also stumbled across something else that was recorded at that same Santa Cruz show. If you're familiar with Masked & Anonymous, you'll remember that the film closes with Dylan speaking over a melody that sounds a lot like Angelina. When he finishes his brief soliloquy, the music blends in to the opening chords of Blowin' in the Wind from Santa Cruz. It's a fantastic version, but for some strange reason the filmmaker decided to edit out 45 seconds of the harmonica solo at the end, so here is what I did:

Back when I had much more time on my hands, I ripped the music from the DVD, and spliced the harmonica solo back in from the flawless Santa Cruz audience tape (03-16-00). Bob's cryptic soliloquy, the sound effects of Bob getting on the bus and the bus pulling away, the Angelina melody in the background, all followed by the outstanding version of BITW makes for one of my favorite listening experiences.

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